Our Last Dance
by crystallica81
Summary: "What happened to you?" "I got hurt." "How?" He was silent. Well, he wasn't exactly the friend I had always wished for, but I think-for now, he would do. Melody had always wanted someone to understand her. Jim wanted to hide from the pirates hunting him. He thinks he's safe at Melody's palace, but will the pirates find the one thing he loves-and take it away from him?
1. The Wish

**Author's Note: Hi! This fanfic is actually a VERY rough draft, but I love feedback on rough drafts I post, so please feel free to comment about it. Review, because I love to read them, and I'll reply to some later on in the chapters. I tried to make Melody and Jim as realistic as possible! Hope it worked! Again, I own nothing, everything belongs to Disney! **

CHAPTER ONE

Melody

The broken clock on the wall kept ticking at the wrong times.

_Tick-tock. _Then a long pause_. _Then: _tick-tock-tick-tock! Tick. Tock_.

It was driving Melody insane. She had been lying in her darkened room for three hours, trying to go to bed after her mom had closed the door and announced bedtime. Because she was a good little girl that always listened to everything that her mom, Queen Ariel, said.

No. Because she feared the consequences. Groundings that never allowed her to leave her room. Her iPod and favorite clothes taken away. Refusal to send her outside, see any visitors. Double-lessons. Yeah; you did _not _want to make Queen Ariel angry. Ever.

Melody twisted a long strand of her thick raven black hair.

_I wonder_, she thought. _If I was a normal girl out there I would be partying tonight with my friends. We'd be dancing, hanging out with boys, twirling our dresses, and making fun of weird photos we took_.

Melody allowed herself a sad, pitiful little smile. _That could be you, Mel. _

That is, if she had any friends.

As a princess you didn't get a lot of those, no matter how important they were. What you got were royal brats that criticized you—and waited for you to make a mistake.

And Melody was full of mistakes.

She didn't know it wasn't _proper _to go out swimming past the palace walls. She didn't know it wasn't _proper _to wear shorts and a tank top in public. She didn't know it wasn't _proper _to wear her hair in a ponytail and not in some fancy braided intricate updo constantly.

Or she didn't really care.

She was constantly teased and made fun of by the better kids. They were only nice to her when her parents, the king and queen were allowed.

Melody detested any party those brats were invited too. That meant hours of trying not to cry while she heard them ridiculing her behind her back.

Melody sighed and picked up the pink telephone next to her bed. She had the emergency numbers by heart; not that she really used them anyway.

1=parents.

2=Martha, her personal maid.

3=the guards on patrol.

4=well, she didn't really care who it was.

Melody jabbed the number two. She'd only call her parents if she was on the verge of desperation.

"Hello?"  
Melody twirled her hair. "Martha?"  
"Yes, Princess?"  
"Martha, could you get me a glass of water?"  
"Of course, Princess. Are you thirsty?"  
Melody bit her lip. "Not really. I just wanna talk to someone."  
"In the middle of the night?"  
Melody flopped down and tugged on the curly phone cord. "Please?"  
"I'll be right up." There was a curt click.

Through the constant trials and tribulations and difficulties of being a princess, Martha was the sole comfort Melody had to last through it all. A friend, always there when she needed her, a shoulder to cry on, with comforting words to issue from her lips when she needed it.

The door opened. "Princess?"  
Melody sat up.

Martha placed the glass of water on her nightstand and stood there, hands clasped politely. "Something you needed to tell me?"  
Melody finally looked up at Martha. "Yeah. I was wondering why I don't have any friends."  
Martha laughed sympathetically and sat down on the bed. "You have friends, Melody."  
Melody laughed bitterly back. "I was being serious, Martha. Seriously. I _know _the truth. I just want to know _why_. What's wrong with me, that they hate me so much?"  
Martha stared at her for a long time, tucking a wisp of gray hair behind her ear. "I don't know, Princess," she said finally. "I guess it's because you were born a princess. And they were born a lesser, like a duke's daughter. Or a count's son."  
Melody looked up. "Jealousy, you mean?"  
Martha shrugged. "Could be." She sighed. "Child, I'm tired. Is this all you needed me for? To ask me why you have no friends?"  
"I want to make friends, Martha."  
"Well, ask your mother."  
Melody smiled sadly. "The same woman who won't even let me talk to the servants for more than a minute? Because it isn't _healthy_, associating with other _castes_?"  
Martha sighed and massaged her temples. "The queen is a delicate creature, isn't she?"  
Melody was silent. _Delicate _wasn't the word_. Annoying and prejudiced_ were more suitable for Queen Ariel.

Martha jerked her chin towards the window. "Look."  
Melody did. "At what?" she wanted to know.

Martha stood and crossed to the door. "The Neverland Star," she informed Melody with a small grin. "Make a wish and it will come true."  
"That's stupid," Melody chimed.

Martha tilted her head. "I think if you try, you won't find it so stupid." She opened the door. "Get some sleep, child. You'll need it for your lessons in the morning."  
"Don't remind me!" Melody groaned, falling back into her bed and wrapping her arms around herself.

Martha chuckled and closed the door sharply behind her.

Melody got up and went to the windowsill. "This is _so_ stupid. Someone stop me from doing this."  
But no heavenly force gusted into her room and pulled her away from the windowsill. Melody wrenched the window upward, and let in the gust of cold air.

Wrapping her thin arms around herself, she sat on the windowsill and tilted her head up to look at the Neverland Star.

"I wish for a friend," Melody said softly. "Just one is enough. One to understand me, and feel my pains and pressures. It doesn't have to be someone rich, or someone who lives in my kingdom. It could be _anyone_, anyone at all. Someone lovely for me to talk to. I mean besides Martha."  
Melody stared up at the star. She waited a moment.

Nothing.

Melody huffed through her nostrils. "I knew it."  
She crawled into bed, pulling the blanket to her chin. _Why was I even expecting anything to happen_? Melody chastised herself.

She turned over, and the star blinked.

A thin trail of silver headed from the black night sky down towards the ground.

Jim

The solar surfer was going down.

Jim Hawkins twisted around to peer behind him, and saw the big overlit ship not so far behind, blasting cannons at him. Big round black balls streamed through the night sky, some nearly missing him.

The solar surfer was losing energy as moonlight faded away from the dial, covered by a thin veil of gray clouds.

"No, no, no, _no_!" Jim yelled. "Come on! Come on, _please_!"

He yanked the throttle up and down, only succeeding in folding in the sails. The Legacy, booming and blasting noises that made his eardrums ache, slammed into the small spacecraft of his.

The contact between the ship and solar surfer were hard.

Jim flew out of the solar surfer, landing hard on the ship's deck.

Long John Silver and a few pirates were standing on board, staring at him.

"Well, look who it is," said Silver in a low growl. The Legacy was still speeding forward. From this high in the sky, Jim could just spot the gentle line that made up the ground.

Nausea rushed towards him, and he felt his stomach churn. _Don't throw up_, he commanded himself. _Be brave, don't throw up_.

He felt his senses lilt, but he stood up anyway, pulling out his pistol from his belt, glaring at the pirates.  
"I like ya, lad," Silver growled. "But we've come too far to have you just stand in the way of me treasure."  
"Run him through," whispered another alien pirate, Scroop, who looked very much like a crab with sharpened pincers.

"No, not yet!" Silver held up his mechanical arm. Silver was a cyborg, half man, half machine.

Jim glared at him, but his knees buckled. "Give us the map, Jim!"  
Jim felt in his pocket, where the spherical map was, and where Silver's pet, Morph, was hiding. Morph had grown to like him, and was now quivering into a jelly in his pocket. "_No_. The map is mine," Jim snapped. His body shook with cold and fear.

Silver glared at him, transforming his metal arm into a gun. "How about I give you till the count of ten? And then we'll see how you like this game."

Jim grabbed the map and began backing up slowly.

"One."

Jim zoned out, thinking mentally. His solar surfer was still in good condition, and it had iron siding. It came naturally to the magnetic cuff attached to his wrist.

"Four."  
Silver was counting slowly, but Jim knew that he only had six more counts till Silver actually shot him. The other pirates were looking impatiently bloodthirsty.

Sucking in a great bout of air, Jim flicked his wrist. It was a subtle action, no one would think much of it.

Bleeping, the solar surfer shot to the edge of the ship.

"Eight. I'm losing my patience, lad."  
Jim leaned over the edge and saw the surfer waiting there, like a faithful dog.

"Silver!" yelled Scroop. "Look!"  
Jim had leaped over the edge and back onto the solar surfer. He could hurtle towards ground and then run. The pirates wouldn't come into a world where they had no idea where they were going. And they _defenitely _wouldn't let the locals see them.

It went against everything they knew.

Jim heard a shot ring out, and he felt a sharp pain in his lower back. The bullet had flown into his back and pierced his stomach, because blood was leaking in swirls out onto his tan shirt, bloodying it.

Jim grunted. "Agh!"  
He saw the ground come into motion. He saw the tall spires of something. A tower? The idealistic place to go.

He pushed forward the throttle. The solar surfer half flew-half fell in that general direction.

His vision was swaying and blurrying.

He hoped there was someone—anyone—that could help him.

He saw the tall top of the spire.

No, wait. It was a roof.

He almost contemplated falling to his death. Then he shot forward. You take what you get.

With one last exertion, the solar surfer knocked him onto the roof. He rolled over and covered his head. An echo of shots rang out nearby.

Blood stained his shirt. Clutching his stomach, Jim slid to the edge of the roof.

He wondered how the person who's room was past the window below him would react to a stranger sliding down.

He wondered if they'd help him.


	2. The Stranger

**Author's Note: How was the other chapter? Did you like it? Hate it? Love it? What do you think will happen in this story? In your comments, give me suggestions! I would love to find one that would help this story along. Please review!**

Melody

_Tap, tap_.

Melody's eyes aqua eyes tore open. She searched her room. At first, she thought it was Martha, waking her for a new tiresome day of being Princess Melody.

Melody raked her hands through her long tangled hair. "Come in, Martha," she called sleepily. "You can leave breakfast on the dresser, as usual."  
No one came in.

Now puzzled, Melody slid out of bed, slipped to the door, and opened it. The hallway was dark, and no one was there. She heard the boot clicks of the guards on patrol downstairs. She looked at her clock.

2:45.

Oh. Okay.

Melody walked back. It was just some dream.

But then it sounded again: _Tap, tap_. A little louder this time. Someone was trying to get her attention. But who?  
_Tap, tap, tap!_

The taps were getting more and more urgent, and turning into pounding. Melody twisted around and spotted a fist smashing against her window, over and over again.

A boy, about a year or so older than her, was curled over the window, brown hair slipping over his eyes.

Melody's hands flew to her mouth in shock. The guards, she thought readily. If an intruder is ever at my window, I should call the guards. But she was frozen.

Her eyes went to her telephone. She started towards it.

But for some reason, he didn't seem dangerous.

He seemed like he needed help.

Melody took a deep breath and wrenched the window open. It slid upwards with a clang.

Melody looked at the body. He was gripping his stomach with his left hand, and clinging to the top of the window with his right.  
"Who are you?" Melody demanded, trying to suck the quiver out of her voice.

"I need help." The boy stated. His voice was flat, like he was at the end of his rope.

Oookay. Melody decided to try another question. "How did you get here?"  
"Just help me inside!"  
Melody reeled back. Was he dangerous, after all?  
"_Please_," the boy begged. "Just help me. I'm bleeding." He gingerly moved his left hand, and Melody saw swirls of red covering his tan shirt.

Melody gasped. She reached out. "Here, take my hand."  
The boy grunted. "Thanks." He grabbed her arm, and she supported him best as she could, but he still tumbled to the ground and lay there. "You have bandages? Medicine?" he asked her.

Melody, while closing the window, instantly thought of Martha. She bent down. "I'll go get my maid," she told him. "She'll help you."  
Panic swirled through the boy's eyes. "No! No one must know I'm here. You have to keep it a secret. I promise I won't bother you or anything." He crinkled his face and groaned, curling into a ball as more blood leaked out of his wound.

"I'm a secret," he whispered to her, his words hoarse. "Okay? Just give me some medicine and bandages and as soon as I heal, I'm on my way."  
Melody stared at him, biting her lip, contemplating. "I'm not sure. I don't really know you."  
The boy rose slowly to a sitting position and stuck out his hand.  
Melody stared distrustfully at it.

He reached out and grasped her hand weakly. He shook it. "I'm Jim. You are…?"  
"Melody."  
He nodded and let go, slumping back to the ground. "Melody. Now we know each other, Melody."

Melody ignored him and proceeded to drag him into the bathroom. She wet a washcloth with warm water and began to clean his gash.

The boy groaned. "Crap, that hurts," he murmured.

"Stop swearing," Melody muttered, wiping the last of the blood away and getting the rubbing alcohol to finish the job.

"Agh, dammit!" Jim yelled as she swiped the slit in his skin with the swab of alcohol.

"I said to stop swearing!" Melody hissed.

"What're you a little angel or something?" Jim hissed back. "A little swearing's healthy. You don't curse?"  
Melody decided to be truthful. "No."  
Jim shrugged weakly. "You should."  
Melody bristled. "I don't have to."  
He closed his eyes. "I'm just saying."

Melody leaned forward. "Well, shut up."

Jim glared at her. "Can I just tell you how annoying you are?"  
Melody laughed. "Well, I'm saving your life right now, so no, you can't."  
The grand bathroom was silent for long time as Melody applied cream to his gash and then bandaged it very carefully.

Melody stared at the wrinkles that were forming on the bandages. She wasn't doing a very good job.

"You suck at bandaging, you know that?" Jim threw in a helpful comment.

Melody sighed. "I know. I'm trying my best. Princesses don't go around bandaging wounds all day."  
Jim's eyes nearly bugged out of his head. "You're a _princess_?"  
Melody didn't reply. She fixed his bandage. "Take off your shirt," she commanded. "I'll try to get you one of my dad's shirts by morning. It might be a little loose, but it'll work."  
She got up and left the bathroom. Digging through the lower reaches of her closet, she was able to find an old sleeping bag of hers with mermaids all over it. It used to be her mom's. She found a small pink pillow she could spare, and a red woolen blanket.

Perfect.

She walked back into the bathroom. Jim had lifted himself to the edge of the tub. He was sitting there shirtless, and Melody stared at his chest for a while before shoving the sleeping bag, pillow and blanket at him.

He took it and began spreading it on the floor.

Melody turned to go. "Don't come outside until I tell you, understand? My maid and my mother are both bound to come in my room at some point tomorrow morning."  
Jim nodded. "Sure."  
Melody opened the door to step out, still not quite believing all this.

"Uh, Melody!"

Melody turned her head and her knotty hair spilled over her shoulder. She probably looked like a sleepy horrible mess.

Jim lowered his eyes. "Thanks."  
Melody couldn't help but smile when she looked at his bashful face. "No problem. Goodnight."  
His head snapped up, like no one had said goodnight to him in a long time, then he grinned. "Goodnight."  
Melody shut the door.

She leaned against it for a long time, staring at her empty dark bedroom, and at the clock flashing 2:55 on its black screen.

She giggled. "There's no guy in my bathroom. Tomorrow, I'm gonna wake up and go right downstairs and do my lessons. Tomorrow is life as usual."

Melody climbed into bed and pulled her blanket up to her chin. Tomorrow was very real and threatening and scary. And that was life as usual.

But she kept thinking here was something more to all of this.

Is he going to _help_, Melody thought to herself before sinking into sleep. Or make things even _more_ complicated? 

Jim

The first thing he felt was a strange relief.

The medicine had helped a lot with the wound to his stomach. He looked down at his naked upper half and saw oozy icky pink on the bandage where red used to be. So the wound had healed a little.

He felt he had slept a lot, because despite the sleeping bag and pillow underneath him, he had a crick in his neck and his back ached horribly.

And he was really cold.

The bathroom had been the temperature of a fridge throughout the entire night, and that thin toddler blanket couldn't keep a _cat_ warm.

He thought of Melody, the princess, allowing a runaway to hide in her bathroom, and smiled. She was a cool princess.

He got up gingerly.

_Don't go outside. My mother and my maid are bound to show up in my room at some point tomorrow morning_.

Melody's warning was probably true. Jim sat down on the edge of the tub.

Time passed.

Finally, he heard Melody's voice outside. "Okay, okay! I'll just get my violin and come right back down, I promise!"  
Her…her _violin_? What about the _runaway _in her bathroom? The one she promised to help?  
The door swung open.

Melody was standing there, breathless, in a stunning above the knee green dress, holding a violin case. She set it down. "You need a shirt. Sorry. I'll go get that now. You clean up the mess."  
Jim looked at the rumpled sleeping bag, the wrinkly blanket, the pillow.

He got down on his hands and knees and folded the sleeping bag and blanket into a neat pile in the corner of the bathroom, and carefully placed the pillow on top.

Melody arrived with a simple gray shirt, a pair of black pants, and a belt to hold the whole ensemble up.

"How's the wound?" she wanted to know.

Jim looked down. "I guess its healing. I can't really tell."

Melody eyeballed it. "I think it needs to be changed. Sit down, let me get new bandages and put on new medicine."  
As she changed the bandages, Jim's stomach growled. Melody glanced up at him. "Hungry?"  
Jim was honest. "I haven't eaten in days."  
Melody gasped. "For real?"

He shrugged. "Does it sound like I'm kidding?"  
Melody bit her lip. "I can't really sneak anything up to you right now. I have a violin lesson for forty five minutes now. But I left a bunch of breakfast on the dresser. Don't worry, I didn't bite it or drool on it or anything, I swear."  
Jim smiled. "Okay. Thanks."

Melody got up, and patted the bandages. "I'm getting better at this stuff!"  
He looked down. The bandage was less wrinkly and tighter. He shrugged. "Guess you are."

Melody stood. "By the way, you'll be gone after breakfast, right?"  
He shrugged again. "It depends on how well I'm feeling."  
A worried look came into Melody's eyes, but she shrugged it away and slipped through the door, whispering a quick goodbye in Jim's vague direction, taking her violin case with her.

Jim stared after her, then turned his gaze to the dresser. There sat a huge metal tray with half a meal sitting on it.

Jim grabbed it and began to swallow the honey and toast and Nutella and fruit salad. Easily, this was the best meal he had ever tasted. He finished as much as he could and sat on Melody's bed to wait.

While he did, he saw a bunch of books sitting on her desk.

Big books.

Big volumes that was filled with Greek and Latin. Jim ran his fingers over the cover. He checked out the information inside it.

All useless. Nothing worth learning. Nothing that would save you from pirates or teach you to survive alone in the world.

Unfortunately, that was the type of information he needed to have.


	3. The Newspaper

**Author's Note: How was the last chapter? Like it, hate it, love it? Comment about how it was! Just making a note that I forgot to mention earlier. Melody is fourteen years old, and Jim is fifteen. This is BEFORE Melody's adventure in The Little Mermaid 2, and this is AFTER Jim's adventure in Treasure Planet. (Kind of). It's kind of confusing, about their ages, and adventures, though I didn't intentionally mean it to be like that. If you have questions about it though, feel free to ask! **

**Reply to Comments: **

**Fierce Dities Link: Thank you! If you have any ideas for the story, leave them in a comment—I'd love to hear them!**

MELODY

"And…good job!" said Valentina. "Except the ending portion of the song needs work."

Melody nodded.

"I keep telling her to practice more," Ariel snapped, crossing her arms over her chest. "But Melody never listens to me."  
Melody sighed. "Mom, please—"

Valentina barked out a laugh. "It's alright, Your Majesty. Melody, why don't we quit class five minutes early so you can work this song? Queen Ariel, about her music contest, why don't we have a chat outside?"  
Ariel and Valentina rose and went outside the music room.

Melody sighed, placed her hands on the keys and launched into the song. It was a pretty song, but no matter how much she worked it, it just wouldn't work.

Ariel and Valentina had went to the patio, and she was alone in the palace with the maids and servants.

There was a knock on the door. Melody looked up but kept playing. Jim was standing there. In her shock, she gasped, stopping the song. "Jim, what're you doing here?"

Jim shook his head. "There was no one in the hallway."  
Melody slipped off the bench and ran to him. "You _have _to go back up to my room. Either that or _leave_."  
Jim shoved his hands into his pockets and sank into a chair in the back. "Chill, Melody. I'll be right out. Can I hear your song again?"  
Melody threw her arms up in the air. "_No_! Please, can you just go back to my room?"  
Jim glared at her. "Why can't I stay? What's wrong with your mom seeing me?"

Melody put her hands on her hips. "Don't you think my mom's bound to ask some questions? As to why a scruffy street boy is in her palace? How you cam in? _When _you came in? What do I tell her? You just waltzed in, bleeding through the stomach, through my _window_? Last night?"  
Jim stared.

Melody sank into a chair and let her head fall back. "You tell me. What should I tell her?"  
Jim chuckled. "Your mom sounds intimidating."

Melody burst out laughing. "Jim, you have no idea."  
Jim got up. "I'll go back. I didn't mean to upset you."

Melody walked him back to her room to make sure he didn't wander off and get lost like a puppy. Once they were safely inside, she clicked the door shut promptly.

He flopped down on her bed. "I tried to read the books here," he said, gesturing at the stack of Latin textbooks on her nightstand. "They were all jibberish. It was like they were in a different language."  
Melody snorted. "They _are_, genius. They're Latin. And they're not _books_. They're _text_books. For my lessons."  
Jim put his arms behind his head. "Oh."  
Melody smiled. "If you wanted to read, just ask."  
Jim shook his head. "I'm not a reader. I hate reading. And I hate lessons."  
Melody smiled softly. "So do I. But we all do things we don't want to do."  
_I have to leave at some point_, Jim thought bitterly. _But I don't want to. I like it here. With you_.

Melody couldn't keep her eyes off the tight wrapping of the bandage, clearly visible underneath Jim's shirt. She touched the bandage. "What happened?"  
"I got hurt."  
"How?"  
He was silent, and averted his gaze away from her.

He wasn't the friend she had really wished for, but for now—he would have to do.

Also, Jim didn't really seem "best friend" material. He seemed more of the quiet, sullen mysterious type that always seemed to get in trouble.

Melody couldn't afford friends like that.

"Princess!" called a voice.

Melody turned around. _Martha_!

She twisted to face Jim, still lying on her bed, staring out the window. "Jim!" she exclaimed.

"What?" He narrowed his eyes as he looked at her.

"You have to go! My maid's coming!"  
Alarm filled Jim's eyes as he jumped off the bed. "Where?"  
Melody ran to the door, barring it physically with her body. "The bathroom."  
Jim rushed in, slamming the door.

"_Princess_?" cried Martha outside.

Melody collapsed to the ground, hurrying to climb into bed with her Latin textbook. Martha opened the door. Her gray hair was frazzled.

"Hi!" said Melody.

Martha tilted her head. "You're in bed, Princess? Are you sick, child? You look flushed."  
Melody felt her cheeks. They _were_ warm. She smiled slightly. "I think I _am _sick. Too sick to attend Latin classes today."  
Martha sat on the edge of the bed and felt Melody's forehead. She harrumphed. "Hmm. Don't have a fever. I think some tonic will cure it."

Melody cringed. She thought of the sickly sweet oozy brown syrup that Martha spooned down her mouth. Tonic was supposed to make you feel better, but it only made her gag with disgust.

Martha tapped her chin. "I think it's in the bathroom. Let me go get it. You'll feel better, right in the mood for lunch."

Panic swam through Melody's stomach. "No!" she exclaimed. "Don't go in there!"  
Martha turned around. "And why not?"  
Her head swirled with excuses, but she couldn't find any one that made sense. Melody ran to the door, blocking it. "It's…it's…it's got….poisonous…."

Martha's eyes widened. "Poisonous…what?"  
"Poisonous…._fumes_!" Melody pressed her arms up against the bathroom. "Too much of it. Needs to be fumigated. But I fully intend to get that done."  
"Princess," said Martha. "Stand out of the way. I will get that tonic."

"And die trying?" Melody's voice was a tiny squeak.

Martha gently guided her out of the way.

Melody tried a last resort, clinging to Martha's arm. "Martha! MARTHA, why are you going in the BATHROOM?" Melody called. She prayed desperately Jim would hear and get the hint and _hide_. So Martha wouldn't turn her in.  
Martha turned again. "Why am I going in the bathroom? To get your _tonic_, for heavens sakes!"  
Martha was very cross now. "Sit down on the bed like a good girl. Sick girls don't run about willy-nilly talking about poisonous fumes."

Melody sat on the edge of the bed and chewed on her hair.

Martha threw open the door and turned, throwing her arms out wide. "_See_, Princess? No fumes!" She opened a cabinet and removed a brown bottle. "See how easy that was?" she asked. "Now all you have to do is swallow what I give you."  
Melody spotted a bit of Jim's dark brown hair behind the door. He was wedged there, hoping Martha wouldn't look behind it.

Secretly, Melody praised him for that. She wouldn't have the quick thinking to do so. She'd probably dive into the bathtub and try to stop her teeth from chattering.

Martha closed the bathroom door and walked to the bed. "Now open your mouth. I'll put tonic in."  
It was just plain medicine for a cold, but Ariel insisted on being all old-fashioned and princessy, as usual, and calling it _tonic_.

Melody sighed and laid back, opening her mouth.

"Just so you won't be surprised," Martha said, letting the syrup slide into Melody's mouth. "I wanted to inform you that your mother is having a ball."  
Melody raised her eyes, trying to swallow the mouthful, but only having it slide around in her mouth like oversweetened sugary jelly.

"In _your_ honor, child. All the dukes and duchesses and counts have been invited."  
Melody's eyes widened. "Whe' ih' dis'?"  
Martha got up, capping the bottle. "When? Tomorrow night."  
Melody choked on the tonic, spitting some straight out into the air. "_Tomorrow_? What has she _done_?"  
Martha shrugged. "What she always does." 

JIM

Does that nosy maid have to be everywhere?  
Jim heard Melody raging outside. He could hear snippets of their conversation.

"_Tomorrow_? How could she _do _this to me?"  
"It's nothing different than—"

"I don't want her to invite all those spoiled _brats_!"  
"Princess, I—"

"Martha, what is this ball in honor of?"  
"You, Highness. Your..birthday."  
Melody shrieked. "My _birthday_? See, the woman doesn't even know me right. My birthday is in _January_! It's _August_!"

"Princess, please try to relax—"

Jim shook his head. Poor her. A ball. Sounds fun, but maybe she didn't like balls. He sighed, waiting for the moment he could finally come out of hiding.

He seated himself on the ground and opened some cabinets. Some were full of magazines.

_Better Princess. _

_Rags to Riches, A Novel. _

_The Royal Gazette. _

Nothing here was of particular interest to him, but while he was situated in Melody's bathroom he might as well entertain himself with what was there.

He opened the Royal Gazette and looked through the more interesting columns.  
A certain heading caught his eye.

_The Legacy: The Adventure Begins!_

The Legacy. That was the ship that had chased him before he crash landed on this strange planet. The Legacy he had entered thinking they were headed to Treasure Planet, the legendary loot of a thousand worlds, following the spherical map he had gotten from an old blind beggar who had crash landed near his mother's inn named Billy Bones.

There was a weird squeaky noise in his pocket.

_Morph_! He had almost forgotten Morph! Jim freed the little guy, and the pink blob zipped into the sky, squeaking, his big bulbous eyes blinking at Jim.

"Hey, Morph!" Jim whispered.

_New place. _

" I know, buddy," Jim whispered again. "But you have to keep your voice down. There are people outside. I'll introduce you to Melody later, when she checks on us. But don't…freak her out or anything, okay?"

Morph smiled and rubbed his tiny pink blob hands together. _No problem. _

Jim picked up the newspaper again, kept on reading.

_Fifteen year old Jim Hawkins had recently found a map, with a strange mechanism on it. Bearing almost resemblance to a code, it had been taken along with him, local astrophysicist Dr. Delbert Doppler, and Captain Amelia Smollet, on the ship known as the Legacy, on a hunt for the legendary Treasure Planet. Months have past, and the Legacy has not been recovered. Captain Smollet and her first mate, Arrow, have not been found. Doctor Doppler, however, returned to Planet Montressor with horrific tales to tell. Among one was how young Jim Hawkins had been taken captive by the pirates, who had been disguising themselves as working crew members just to take the treasure. _

_Neither Jim Hawkins or the pirates have been found. We have confirmed it's a case that cannot be solved. Right now, the top Montressor detectives have been looking into it, and the one solution we are on the verge of is that Hawkins was working with the pirates the whole time, considering his arrest and school record. Therefore, his mother, Sarah Hawkins, has been taken in for questioning as to Hawkins' interaction with mysterious characters. Stay tuned for more information about this intergalactic mystery. _

_-Paula Merin_

Jim's eyes narrowed. Interaction with myserious characters? Hawkins working with the pirates, considering his arrest and school record? His _mother_ taken in for _questioning_?  
What were these people playing at?

Jim sighed, threw the newspaper sharply away into the cabinet. "I need to leave," he realized. "No point in me staying here any longer."  
He got up and opened the bathroom door. More newspapers. He had to find the most recent one and read that column. Jim slipped down the giant stairs, no one noticing the scruffy street boy in the brown jacket.

Outside, on the deck, he spotted Melody and her family, the queen and king, enjoying lunch. Well, Melody looked desolate.

But the queen seemed to be enjoying herself.

Jim walked up to one of the younger maids, an obvious risk. But he really needed to know where the latest newspaper was. See how his mother's questioning was going. What they suspected about him. Whether or not it was safe to return to his home planet.

"Excuse me," he said, tapping the maid on the shoulder.

She turned around, light brown hair flopping over her shoulder. "Yes, sir?"  
Sir. Ha. Jim shoved his hands into his pockets. "Can you tell me where the most recent newspaper is?"  
The maid straightened her skirt. "I collected it this morning myself. It's over there on the table, sir. Would you like other newspapers, too?"  
Jim paused for a moment. If he stayed longer, there would be more time to read the other ones. He sighed. He'd be staying for longer, most likely.

He shook his head. "Just the most recent one, thanks."  
The maid handed it to him. "If you ask me, check out the column about the missing ship."  
Jim's head whipped to the maid. "_What?_ What do you mean?"  
"About the boy," the maid whispered, looking both ways. "The missing boy? Who they're thinking were working with the pirates? It's all like a great adventure novel, but is so real!"

Jim was already gone, running up the stairs.

He had to figure out what was happening, and why—fast.

Trouble was on the horizon.


	4. The Gunpowder

**Author's Note: Thanks to everyone who's been commenting! I like how my story's going so far, and I'm trying to build it up to the climax. Please review, and give me any ideas you got! And defenitely tell me how the chapters are going! Like it, hate it, or love it, and comment about it! **

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**Fanfictionsanta: Thanks so much, and yes, the pirates are going to pop in unexpectedly VERY soon….**

**Kieran: Thank you, Kieran, and I hope your iPod gets fixed! Keep reading for more action! And no, I did not review myself. My friend accidentally reviewed for my story without letting me log out of my account. Oh, well. **

**SomeOneNew: Thanks! ! **

**Keep commenting, everyone!  
**

MELODY

Melody dragged her fork through the pile of plain macaroni on her plate, garnished with bacon and green stuff.

"—And furthermore," Ariel was saying. "I already bought a beautiful dress for you, honey. It's a real ballgown that I bought from a European dress shop. It's pink and white with capped sleeve and lace and it's _so_ pretty, darling! The most beautiful dress I've ever seen."  
Melody wasn't listening at all about her mother prattle about her dress.

"—And Trisha Burns, the duke's daughter, will also be attending. Do you remember her, Melody?"

Melody's head snapped up. "Trisha's coming?"  
Ariel smiled.

Melody stood up, the chair scraping on the white tiles on the floor. "I don't want to have this stupid ball!"  
"It's not stupid!" Ariel exclaimed indignantly, standing up. "I'm having this ball to—"

Melody twisted around. "What? You're having this ball to what?"  
Ariel was silent. She sat down, averting her gaze to Eric, then scrounging at her dinner again.

"_You're having this ball to do what_, Mom_?"  
_Eric spoke up. "Find you…find you a boyfriend, dear."  
Melody was beside herself. "F-find me a _boyfriend_?"  
Eric cleared his throat. "In a couple of years, darling, you will be needing to marry. Therefore, a boyfriend is necessary. We're having a…er, _prince_ coming from the Southern Isles to socialize with you tonight."

Ariel smiled. "Exactly."  
Melody turned. "I don't want some fancy prince boyfriend."  
"Melody dear—" began Ariel.

Melody whirled again, eyes blazing. "I said _I don't want a boyfriend_. I'm too young!"  
Ariel cut in again. "I got a boyfriend when I was sixteen! And I married him, too!"  
Melody blinked. "At _sixteen_?"  
Ariel nodded, proud.

Melody just shook her head, pushed back out of her seat, and headed for the stairs. "I'm not in the mood for this, Mom!" she called over her shoulder.

"When _will_ you be in the mood?" Ariel wanted to know.

Melody didn't turn back, just stood there and said in a really soft voice: "Never." 

In her room, Melody drew the blinds.  
She couldn't pretend she was sick and in bed. And after all the ball was tomorrow night. She wouldn't be able to do this, no matter what. Not another ball, where Trisha and her group giggled and whispered about her behind her back.

_I can't do this_.

Melody shook her head. She didn't even want to see Martha.

Silently, she turned her eyes to the bathroom.

"So…you don't want to attend the ball because….the rich kids there make fun of you?"  
Jim's eyebrows were raised almost to his hairline.

Melody was sitting on the bathroom countertop, and Jim was sitting on the closed toilet seat.

Melody nodded sadly. "I'm sorry I'm telling you this, but I've got no one else right now."  
"No, no probs," Jim said, just watching her. "It's fine—but my question is, what do they have to make fun of?"  
Melody blinked. "What do you mean?"  
Jim shrugged. "You're pretty, you're smart, and you're a princess. What do they got to work with?"  
Melody smiled. "You're really cute, you know that?"  
"What?"  
"You really are. Do you use that on all the girls?"  
Jim snorted. "What are you talking about?"  
"The 'pretty, smart, princess' thing?"

Jim rolled his eyes. "Please. No way. I haven't had _that_ many girlfriends."  
Melody opened the bathroom door. "That face is just screaming for fangirls," she said.

Jim grinned. "You think so?" He smoothed back his fine crop of hair.

Melody left the bathroom. "I'm gonna go study."  
"Hey," Jim called, leaning out of the bathroom. "Are your parents going somewhere tonight?"  
"Yes."  
Jim decided to go for it. "You wanna do something when they're gone? Something fun?"  
Melody faltered for a second. "Fun?" She shoved a roll from her pocket at him, something she had grabbed from lunch.

Jim grabbed the roll. "Thanks." He bit into it, chewed, and swallowed. "Something fun. You _do_ know how to have fun, right, Princess Melody?"  
Melody sighed. "Whatever. What _is_ your idea of fun? I hope it's not dangerous."  
Jim laughed. "It's won't be dangerous at all, I swear."

JIM

"This looks _dangerous_!" Melody shrieked, standing in a tank top and shorts,staring down at the laundry chute.

Jim had propped up the flap of the laundry chute with a heavy box, and laid a hamper full of clothing at the bottom. "_Look_, Mel," he said through gritted teeth. "It's not gonna be hard. And you're not gonna die trying or anything."  
"But I'm scared!" Melody squealed, grabbing Jim's arm and bouncing up and down. "This is so exciting!"  
Jim grinned. "Here, I'll even go first. Whatever you're scared of happening to _you_ will happen to me."

Melody smiled. "Glad to see you're willing to be brave like that."

"Knight in shining armor right here."  
Melody laughed.

Jim smiled. He liked hearing her laugh. He got into the laundry chute. "Wish me luck."  
"Good luck!" Melody squeaked.

He went down sliding. His hair streamed back, and he let out a whoop. He put his arms in the air, and he flew out the bottom—straight into the hamper of clothing. Shaking his head, he climbed out, laughing. "Mel!" he yelled. "Slide down!"  
He heard her nervously giggle at the top. "I'm coming down! Get out of the way!"

Jim grinned. He had an idea. He shoved the hamper away. He knew it was mean, but he knew she'd stop herself.

There she came, sliding down, looking like everything but a princess. Just like a normal girl, with long straight hair, a flushed face, and gorgeous wide eyes.

She screamed as she saw him drag away the hamper. "You _idiot_!" she shrieked. "Catch meeeeee!"  
Jim dove into the way, grabbing her around the waist. Unfortunately, she was coming down way too fast for him to stop her fully.

With a scream from Melody's lips, they both rolled across the floor and crashed into the wall, Melody sprawled on top of him, her face buried in his shoulder.

Jim smiled, put his hands on her shoulders, and raised her up gently. Melody was shaking when her head came up.

Jim frowned. "Mel? Mel, are you okay?"

She wiped sweaty hair off her forehead.

Jim's forehead creased with concern. "Are you hurt?" He would never be able to live with himself if he had hurt her in a joke.

Melody burst out laughing. "Let's do it again!"

After several more rides down the laundry chute, it was getting late, and Melody grabbed Jim's hand. "Come on," she said. "I want to take you somewhere."  
Jim tilted his head. "More fun? I dunno. I just wanna lie down somewhere and sleep."

Melody tugged. "Please?"

Jim got up and followed.

There was no reason to stay here.

Why not have some fun while he was at it? 

"Where are we going?" Jim demanded as Melody began to wade into the water.

"Past the palace walls," Melody replied dreamily, without turning around. "To a place I go often."

Jim pulled off his jacket and shirt, removed his boots, stripped off his thin brown socks, and rolled up his olive green pants as high as they would go, following behind, wading into the icy water after Melody.

They both ducked under the palace walls, everything silent and calm under the waves for a second, then emerging up above in the surface again.

Melody took hold of Jim's hand and began to dive forward into the waves. "Coming?"  
Jim shook his head. "Nah."

Melody shrugged and dove into the dark water, twirling and flipping like a dolphin.

Jim smiled as he watched her; he was getting more and more used to seeing her face everyday. She was as constant in his life as the stars in the sky.

He sat down in the sand, trying to dry his wet pants.

Melody finally joined him, after swimming, and laid down in the sand. Jim did, too, wet sand clinging to his back.

He heard her teeth chattering, and turned his head to her. "You cold?"  
"I feel great," Melody said softly. "Better than I've ever felt before."  
Jim smiled and turned back.

Moments later, the heavens spread out. The Milky Way unfolded before their eyes, and stars glowed against the black sky.

"Isn't it beautiful?"  
Jim turned his head again. "Huh?"  
"The sky. Isn't it beautiful?"  
Jim shrugged. "Sure."  
He heard Melody swallow. "When I look up at the stars," she said in a low voice. "I feel like I'm in a perfect world. I feel like I belong to the stars. Is that stupid?" she turned her head, cringing, biting her lip.

Jim shook his head. "I feel just like that sometimes."  
"Someday, I want to fly."  
Another surprise. "You..you want to _fly_? Don't you need your bones to be, like, hollow, and to have _wings_ for that?" Jim asked.

"Shut up!" Melody said. "I don't mean it literally."  
Oh, Jim realized. _Fly_ as in—well, he didn't know.

"Life wants you to walk on land," Melody whispered. "But those with courage want to fly, and they can, if they are brave enough to spread their wings. Wasn't that pretty?"  
"Poetry."  
Melody smiled. "My maid. She's a poet. She told me that a few years ago."  
Jim sat up. "I'm cold. Can we go back now?"  
Melody just laid there. "Sure."  
Jim reached for her, took her hand, and pulled her up. "Come on."  
*****************************************************************************

Safely back inside Melody's room, with Melody asleep in her bed, Jim realized the scary truth.

His gun needed to be charged.

If the space pirates attacked now, he would be weaponless and unable to defend himself or Melody against anybody else.

But what power source in his planet would match the charges he'd get back in his home planet? He had no idea. He needed powder or a liquid to fuel his gun.

Maybe there were ideas in the newspaper. There was a lot of news about his mom's questioning, a funeral held for Captain Smollet, and also Mr. Arrow, who Doctor Doppler reported had died in the horrible wake of an exploded star, known as Permusa.

Jim began going through the magazines in Melody's cabinet. At the bottom was a pile of magazines with glossy covers and pictures of strange creatures on the front.

_Bears!_ It said. _Your Complete Guide to Killing These Monstrous Creatures With An Easy Scope Rifle!_

Jim shook his head. He couldn't imagine just walking around killing creatures as a blood sport. He himself had_ witnessed _death, but never actually _killed _someone before.

_Hunting Magazine_, the coverpage said.

There were dozens more of this.

Jim began flipping through it. There were detailed instructions on how to get the best kill of the season. Pages and pages were marked up, highlighted, and scribbled on with red pencil. Hmm. Perhaps the king was a good hunter, and read these. He couldn't imagine Melody a hunter.

_Gunpowder: An Old Fashioned Hunter's Best Friend._

He flipped the page, but almost as suddenly flipped back. Gunpowder. Maybe that could charge his pistol and then he wouldn't be defenseless. Of course, it wouldn't _nearly _match the regular power of the pistol, but it would be _something_.

Gunpowder. He couldn't just wander through the palace now. Melody would _kill _him if he got caught.

Maybe he could ask the maid.

No, too dangerous.

Well, he'd have to see.

He opened the bathroom door an inch and crept out. The broken clock on Melody's wall kept ticking at the absolutely wrong times.

He couldn't figure out how she fell asleep. _Maybe she didn't_. He'd have to be quiet and careful.

He opened the door out into the hallway, and stepped outside. The hallway was dark and empty, as he expected it to be.

He heard the boot clicks of the guards on patrol in this hallway, and also downstairs. He heard the maids giggling in the kitchen.

He walked downstairs, his feet clicking on the large stairs. He tried not to make noise, but he continued to move fast, trying to finish his mission as well as he could. He felt the spherical map in his pocket.

He felt Morph wiggle around in the other pocket. "Shhh, _quiet_," he hissed at Morph. Morph stopped wriggling around and mumbled an apology.

Jim felt the pistol strapped to his belt. As he walked down the hallway, he opened each door quietly, trying to figure out where gunpowder would be in this strange world.

Suddenly, there was a loud knock at the main door.

Jim did all but scare himself straight out of his mind. He leaped into the nearest door and pressed himself to the wall, shaking.

He heard a high pitched female voice ask what was the problem. A deep male voice greeted her.

"The king's new air rifle?" the voice asked.

The maid let out a breath. "Oh, of course! You can take it to his hunting room. Down the hall and to the left, past the double doors. There's an empty peg there in his gun collection for the rifles."  
Rifles. Where the guns were, the gunpowder probably was.

Jim's mind made the connection, and he opened the door, and he followed the tall man carrying the rifle down the hallway and to the hunting room.

He crouched down behind a potted plant in a striped gold pot….and waited.

It was a while before the tall man left the hunting room—and Jim was able to creep in unnoticed.

He looked at the table, the big rifles pegged to the walls, and sucked in a breath.

This was the ideal room to stock up on weapons that would be the downfall of the space pirates.

He opened each drawer in the table until he came to a small box. He opened it, and his eyes took in the dark gray granules.

This was it. No turning back.

Jim grabbed the whole entire box and shoved it into his pocket. He'd charge the pistol back inside Melody's room. No point in risking his neck down here.

Jim left the hunting room and hurried back up the stairs.

Slowly, cautiously, he made it to Melody's room and pulled out the pistol to restrap it to his belt.

"Freeze!"  
The deep male voice resonated throughout the hallway and made the hairs on the back of Jim's neck stand up.

He was scared to turn, but he did, and strong hands grabbed his arms and shoved him against the wall.

Another pair of hands frisked him down his body, and pulled away his gun, the gunpowder, and the spherical ball.

They reached into his other pocket, and the guard emmitted a scream when he touched Morph's jellylike body. With a squeal, Morph shot out unnoticed into the darkness, and squeezed stealthily under Melody's door, safe in her room.

"A pistol?" the first guard snapped.

"And a type we've never even seen before!" the guard holding him gasped. "Let me see it!"  
The other guard snatched it away and put his face up close to Jim's. "What are you doing in the palace, boy? What were you doing in here with a pistol?"  
The other guard slammed him against the wall again. Distress sang through Jim's body, and he held in a yelp of pain.

"No doubt trying to assasinate our princess!" cried the first guard. "Treason! He must be put to death immediately!"  
Jim struggled against him. "Are you out of your mind?" he yelled. "I wasn't trying to hurt her!"  
The guard looked bored. "Troubled teens these days," he commented to his companion.

With a grunt, Jim threw himself against the guard's muscled arms, but he was really no match for a trained government official.

"What's this?" the second guard wanted to know. "This round ball thing? What are you, playing a game, son? Is this a game for you? Were you gonna play golf with the princess?"  
Thank goodness he didn't know what the map actually was.

"It has buttons on it," the first guard pointed out. "It could be a bomb!"  
The second guard shoved Jim. "Is it a bomb?" he turned to his friend. "We better destroy it."  
"No!" Jim shouted. "Don't touch it! It's _mine_!"  
" '_It's mine_!'" mimicked the first guard. "It's _ours_ now."

"Please," Jim said weakly. "Just let me go. And give it back to me."  
"Shut up!" The second guard raged, kneeing him in the windpipe. The air lost, Jim sank to the ground. He was sure a bruise was going to blossom like a black and blue flower where the guard's knee hit.

Suddenly, the door opened, and Melody was standing there in her nightgown, her long hair flowing down her back. Jim spotted the pink blob that was Morph hidden just behind her long veils of raven hair.

"Turn on the light!" Melody barked at the first guard. He scrambled for a switch on the wall.

When the hallway light turned on, Melody took in the map, the pistol, the box of gunpowder, and Jim on the ground, clutching his windpipe.

She closed her eyes. "What's _happening_ here?"  
"This…this vagabond snuck into the palace and was attempting to harm you. He had a pistol—"

"He's my _friend_," Melody hissed. "His dad is a hunter, and is part of my dad's regular hunting party. I got acquainted with him one day, and he wanted to give me….that!" Melody pointed at the map.  
Jim slowly rose to his knees, and finally managed to stand.

"What is this, Princess, may I ask?" the second guard wanted to know, tapping the map.

Melody's face darkened. "That is none of your business. Now go about your watch!"  
The guards backed away slowly. "Good night, then, Princess," they said.

Melody turned. "Good night."

Her eyes narrowed, glaring at Jim.

He lowered his gaze.

As soon as the guards were out of sight, Melody grabbed Jim's sleeves and yanked him inside.

Jim pushed the map, gunpowder and pistol back into his pocket hastily.

"What is your _problem_?" Melody hissed. "I told you not to leave! How could you _do _this? Do you _want _me to get in trouble?"

Jim shook his head. "Mel, I'm sorry."  
"Where did you go? Why did you go?"

Jim sighed. "I didn't mean to get you in trouble, Mel. I had to…"  
"Had to _what_?"

"Charge my pistol. I went to get gunpowder."  
"_Gunpowder_? Jim, don't you expect me to help you? Why didn't you just _ask me_? I could've gotten the gunpowder for you. Now the guards will tell _Mom_. And it's the end of my life."

Jim stepped forward threateningly. "I said I was _sorry_, didn't I? Do you really need to nag?"  
"_Nag_?" Melody shrieked. "I'm trying to help you!"

"Are you sure you're trying hard enough? Because it's not working."  
"You're living in my room. I don't really think you have the right to tell me what's working and what's not working." Melody said coldly.

Jim just stared at her. This was not even close to the Melody he knew. "Why are you being so annoying?" he demanded.

Melody narrowed her eyes. "If you think I'm so annoying, you can leave."  
Jim headed for the bathroom.

"So you insult me, but you're still living in my bathroom."  
"Shut up," Jim muttered, opening the bathroom door and stepping inside.

Melody followed him, standing outside the door. "I'm just trying to help," she told him in a quiet voice.

He slammed the door in response.


	5. The Goodbye

**Author's Note: Hi, everybody! Thanks to all who reviewed! Keep reviewing! I am trying to figure out in which way to go with this story, so if you have any ideas, put it in a comment—I'd love to hear 'em. **

**Reply to comments: **

**Liveluvlovato101: Thank you so much! Yes, there is defenitely action coming up in these next couple of chapters. Aw, I'm so glad you like the story! And I'll defenitely be updating this; I'm pretty sure I know which way this story will go. Once again, thanks for your encouraging comments! Keep reading!**

MELODY

Melody couldn't believe Jim would do something like this.

Sneak out in the middle of the night to _charge his gun_. Melody couldn't sleep, and now as the sun crept above the mountains to shine on the kingdom, she realized it was the day of the ball.

Just like that, her spirits fell.

She turned her face towards the bathroom. She wished she could just say sorry and get over the fact that she had yelled at Jim last night.

It _was _his fault, but she still felt bad anyway. _That's my problem_! She thought angrily to herself. _Always feeling bad when it's somebody else's fault_.

Melody slid out of her bed, and walked to the bathroom.

Then she hesitated, and walked to the door, and opened it, heading downstairs.

In the white tiled kitchen, Melody spotted Martha mixing dough.

She walked up to Martha and tapped her on the shoulder.

Martha turned. "Something I can do for you, Princess?"  
Melody sighed. "Breakfast. I'm hungry."  
Within minutes, Martha had made eggs with cheddar cheese and sour cream and three slices of toast with strawberry jam. Melody took the tray, thanked Martha, and headed back upstairs.

In the safety of her room, Melody knocked on the bathroom door.

There was no reply.

She knocked again. "Jim, open up."  
Still silence.

Melody leaned her head against the wood. "I'm coming in, okay?"  
She grabbed onto the door handle and pushed the door open.

Jim was asleep.

She leaned over him, prodding his stomach with his toe, forgetting about his wound.

With a groan, Jim's eyes tore open. "Crap! What do you think you're doing?"

Melody realized her mistake. "Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't realize—"

"Chill," Jim exhaled, sitting up, touching the wound gently. "What do you want?"  
Melody knelt down. "I just wanted to say I'm sorry for last night. I think I…I overreacted. I was…um."  
Jim smiled. "You were wrong?"  
Melody pulled her knees to her chest and leaned against the wall. "Whatever."  
Jim smirked. "You have no idea how to apologize, do you, Princess?"

Melody ignored him. "Breakfast?" She handed him the tray.

"All this for me?"  
Melody snorted. "No, you better be planning to share with me."

She prodded the eggs. "You can have these. I'll have the toast though."  
Jim smiled. "Hey, Melody?"  
She turned to him. "Yeah?"  
"Thanks."  
"For what?"  
"For everything."  
Melody let her hair fall into her face so Jim couldn't see her cheeks turn pink. "You're—you're welcome."  
* * *

Time passed.

It was nearly evening, and Melody was in fear of the ball.

She was sitting on her bed, brushing out her long hair, and suddenly, Jim came out of the bathroom.

"Hey," he said softly, sitting down next to her.

"What's up?" Melody asked.

Jim lowered his gaze to his lap.

Melody's heart started pounding. Was something seriously wrong with him? The wound?! Was it _infected _or something? What if he….

"I have to go," Jim said.

"Well, you're living in my bathroom," Melody said slowly. "You can _go _anytime you want."

Jim chuckled, but it was a sad laugh. "No, Mel. I have to _go_. As in _leave_. Go home."

Melody dropped her brush, and Jim bent down to pick it up for her.

He looked at her face.

"When?" Melody asked, biting her lower lip.

Jim stood. "Right now. I really don't want to ask anything else of you, but—"

"Go ahead," Melody said softly. "I want to help you, Jim."  
Jim gave her a tiny smile. "I just want some medicine. And some extra bandages. And if you could give me some food and maybe a bottle of water, to last me a few days."  
Melody silently got up and left the room.

Minutes later, she returned with a bag of food.

"Rolls," she said flatly. "The ones you like. With toast, and some meat. And I have cheese in there. And a bottle of grape juice."  
Jim looked up at her. "Thank you. Not just the food. For everything."  
Melody's voice was small. "Will you ever come back to see me?"  
Jim's voice cracked. "I'll try."

They both knew in their hearts the answer was no.

"Try to enjoy yourself, at the ball," Jim told Melody quietly. "Dance with your prince. Have fun."  
Melody sighed. "I highly doubt a prince will slide down the laundry chute with me."  
Jim blinked. "Well, no. He's a _prince_." Then he cleared his throat. "Goodbye, Mel."

Melody walked him to the window. Jim flicked a gray cuff on his wrist, and a heap of metal came flying to the window like a dog.

"What's _that_?" Melody asked.

Jim stepped onto the windowsill. "This is a solar surfer. I travel around on it."  
Melody nodded, not questioning much. Then her eyes widened. "Wait!"  
Jim twisted around. "Yeah?"

Melody outstretched her arms for a hug. Jim looked at her, surprised, as if he didn't know what a hug was.

"We're friends, aren't we?" Melody asked, her voice quiet.

Jim stepped off the windowsill and gave her a hug. They held on tight, and Melody's eyes watered for a few seconds.

"_Me_lody!" came a voice from the bottom of the stairs. "Are you coming, dear? They're about to announce you!"

Melody broke away. "Bye, Jim," she whispered.

He looked at her sadly. "Bye, Mel."  
"_Melody_!" screamed Ariel from downstairs.

Melody hurried to the door and opened it. When she looked back towards the window, no one was there.

Jim was gone.

JIM

The moment he stepped onto his solar surfer, he regretted it.

He kept feeling Melody's heart beating next to his, and her thin arms around him. Jim pulled on the throttle sharply, making the solar surfer veer to the side.

As he streaked like a silver comet through the glowing sky, he spotted another streak headed down towards the ground.

Jim narrowed his eyes. "What was that?" he wondered out loud.

He watched it. It wasn't headed towards the ground, he realized. It was headed towards…the _palace_.

Now Jim felt a bit worried, and a bit panicked. He watched the streak for a while. Why was that comet heading towards the palace. As it got closer, Jim realized what it was.

A flying ship.

A flying ship he knew well. It was the Legacy. And Silver and Scroop were on the front deck.

Why were _they _headed towards the palace?

With Scroop and Silver out of the way, he was free to head straight back to his home. Jim looked towards the stars. His destiny lay beyond them.

He looked back towards the palace. He thought of Melody taking care of his wound, giving him food, and then giving him a last hug.

He had grown to like her. A lot.

What if the pirates were going there to….hurt someone?  
No. He couldn't let that happen.

Jim thought of the freedom that was waiting for him. He thought of the free life he would finally be able to have. If he went back to Melody, his freedom would be delayed longer. He closed his eyes. _Why_? He asked himself silently.  
He debated silently one last time.

Then he grabbed the throttle and turned the solar surfer around.


	6. The Attack

**Author's Note: Hi, everybody! I'm really excited about this fanfiction, and how its going! There's defenitely gonna be quite a bit of action in this chapter…I hope it goes well! Please review and comment, because I love to read all of them!**

**Reply to comments: **

**Thank you SOOO much, SweetStuff! I'm so glad you like the story-but it's not the finish, girlfriend. There's lots more action coming up-I hope you enjoy as the story builds up! Yes, I am trying to update as fast as I can, and I am really excited about this too. And I'm so glad you love my stories! Keep reading and reviewing: fans like you inspire me a LOT. Thanks! **

MELODY

"Aaaaaaaand announcing Princess Melody Hale!" announcer Thomas Little yelled. True to his surname, he was a small man, only coming up to Melody's shoulder.

"_Go_!" hissed Queen Ariel, waving her hands at Melody.

Grabbing the railings, Melody began to walk slowly down the stairs, her knuckles white, breathing heavily.

She saw a group of girls in flashy bright dresses giggling, willing her to fall.

_I won't fall_, thought Melody sadly. _I will fly. I won't let them bring me down. I will spread my wings, I will fly_.

Melody took a deep breath and made it to the bottom. She curtsied. All the lords and ladies and young girls and boys her age curtsied back.

Idly, Melody walked to the food and drinks table, ladled herself a glass of punch. She might as well do _something _while she was standing here like a loser.

Someone tapped her shoulder.

_Jim_?  
Melody whirled around. No. It was just some tall blonde boy in a charming blue suit.

"Princess Melody?" asked the boy, with a big wide grin.

Melody nodded cautiously. She didn't want to be embarrassed like her 12th birthday ball.

"I'm Prince Norman Harris," said the blonde boy, bowing deeply. "Would you like to dance?"  
Waltz music, quiet and graceful, had turned on, and Melody took Norman's hand, and they glided forward onto the dance floor.

Melody spotted Trisha Burns scowling and whispering to Ashlyn Laurent. Something about her, no doubt.

"So, Princess," said Norman in a quiet, thoughtful voice. "I heard there was a merger in our future."

Melody nodded, not trusting herself to look up at him.

Norman smiled and pulled her closer. "You're beautiful," he murmured. "I mean _really _beautiful."  
Melody took one step back. "Um."  
Norman smiled. "I'm sorry. I just can't take my eyes off you."

Melody felt awkward and freaked out. Norman kept a firm hold on her arm. Now a bit panicked, Melody yanked away quickly and backed up.

She bumped into someone. She whirled around, and saw Ashlyn Laurent and Trisha Burns smiling at her. But not in a nice way.

Before Melody could stay anything, Trisha slammed her shoe's heel down onto the bottom of Melody's gown.

Melody instinctively took a step away from Trisha, and suddenly, a big tearing sound shot through the ballroom.

Ashlyn burst into laughter as everyone saw the long tear on Melody's gown heading all the way up to her hip.

Most of the lacy pink and white fabric lay in a heap on the ground.

Melody, just shaking her head, tears slipping down her cheeks, just couldn't believe someone living and breathing could be that cruel.

Trisha grinned, showing off her buckteeth. "See, Melody?" she asked sweetly and maliciously. "Now you really _are _a failure princess."  
"Talk about humiliation!" giggled Ashlyn.

The entire crowd began to laugh, except Queen Ariel and King Eric.

Melody burst into tears and rushed out of the ballroom.  
She fled up the stairs and into her room. She slammed the door, and instintively went to the bathroom, opening the door. "Jim?" she asked, a sob jarring her words.

But he wasn't there.

Melody slammed the door, pressed her back against it, and slid down to the floor, pulling her knees to her chest, burying her face into her knees. Her body heaved with sobs, her bare knees wet with her salty tears.

There was a knock on the door. "Go _away_, Mom!" Melody yelled.

The door opened. Prince Norman Harris stood there. "Princess, are you alright?" he asked.

Melody sniffled. "I'm fine. Tell my mother that I'm not coming down to the ball."  
"But I was looking forward to talking to you," said Norman cheerily. "Don't worry about Trisha and Ashlyn. They're very unintelligent, aren't they?"  
Melody didn't reply. She knew her eyes were red and puffy, and her mascara was leaking down her cheeks. She swiped her sleeve across her eyes. The mascara was streaked on her bare arm now.

Norman reached out his hand. Melody took it and he lifted her up gently.

He stepped forward and stroked one finger gently down her face. Melody reeled back. "Prince Norman, what are you doing?"  
Norman didn't say a word, just pulled her down to the ground. Now pressed up against her, he grabbed her dress.

Melody screamed, and ran for the door. But he had a firm grip, and her dress tore, now hanging off her shoulder.

He grabbed her wrist, wrenching her back towards him. He was no longer a friendly prince. He was a monster.

"Let me go!" Melody howled in pain as her arm felt like it was about to be wrenched out of her socket.

Norman was stronger. Melody lashed out, kicking, scratching, and biting. But no help was coming.

No one was there for her.

She was alone. And in serious trouble.

JIM

He first landed the solar surfer and went to the front door. But heavily armed guards stopped him and demanded he leave.

"Sorry," the first guard said, eyes narrowed. "No Jim Hawkins on the guest list."  
Jim couldn't very well charge past them. So he grabbed the solar surfer, flicked the throttle.

_I'll go to Melody's room_, Jim realized. Sneak through the window, and then go downstairs. I'm sure I can find my way to the ballroom. Then I'll warn her of the space pirates that are coming. And then maybe I can stay just long enough to stop them from entering and wreaking havoc.

Jim nodded. Seemed like a foolproof plan to him.

He drifted to the window. He tapped on it, and pressed his face against the glass.

"Mel?" he called. "Mel, are you in there?"  
_Stupid_, he realized. _She's at the ball, dancing with her prince_.

He grabbed the bottom of the window and wrenched it open, stepping onto the windowsill. He half expected Melody to be lying on her bed, studying Latin.

Her room was dark, but then a scream shattered the air like glass.

Jim spun. "_Melody_?"  
"Wha?" A confused, dazed face popped out from behind the bed. A blonde boy's face with ice blue eyes.

Jim crinkled his brow in confusion. "Who are you?"  
The boy narrowed his eyes. "I should ask the same about _you_."  
Jim craned his neck. "Where's Melody?"

Melody's face emerged from behind the blonde boy. "_Jim_?"  
Jim shoo,'k his head. "What are you two _doing_? Am I intruding in on something?"  
Melody jumped up and ran to him, grabbing his arm. "_No_! You came at _exactly _the right time."  
She cocked her head, almost as if she were challenging the blonde boy.

"What did he do to you?" Jim asked warily, eyeing the red pinches of skin on her arms.

He also noticed her pink and white ballgown was practically shredded.

"Just tried to kiss me," Melody snapped. "And came in my room without permission. And tore my dress."

Jim was enraged. "Get out," he hissed at the blonde boy.

The boy got up, gave a weird grin, and stepped forward like a madman, grabbing Melody's shoulder. Melody gave a little yelp of pain and reeled back.

Anger welled up inside Jim. Anger from his past, anger from what was happening now. He grabbed the boy's shirt and shoved him up against the wall.

"If you _ever_ touch her again!" Jim snarled, pounding the blonde boy with every word he said. "I swear, I'll kill you! If you _ever _try to hurt her—"

"Jim!" Melody rushed to him and grabbed his arm. "Jim, _don't_!"  
Breathing hard, Jim pushed the boy to the ground. "Get out," he said coldly.

The boy crawled to the door, and rushed out, staggering down the steps like a drunkard.

Jim looked at Melody, taking in her wild frigtened eyes and her torn dress. Melody wrapped her arms around him. "Jim, I'm so glad you came back!" she whispered into his ear.

Clearing his throat, he pried her arms away. "Go change," he told her, gesturing at the bathroom. "What is it?" Melody looked alarmed.

"I'll tell you in a few," Jim said, waiting in her room.

Melody grabbed her tank top and shorts and walked into her bathroom, shutting the door.

Within moments, she had come out, fully dressed again.

Jim took her arm. "There were people chasing me when I came in through your window bleeding the other day," he whispered.

Melody nodded.

"Well, they're _here_. Possibly looking for me. And I think they may enter the palace."  
Melody shook her head. "There are guards—"

"_Mel_," said Jim. "They're stronger than the guards. They're powerful. They will stop at nothing to get what they want. They _will _attack to get at me. I wanted to leave, lead them away, but I couldn't stand by and let you and your family get hurt. So I came back."  
Melody stared at me. "What _are _they?" she whispered.

Jim didn't answer. He opened the door, and patted his pistol. "I have a weapon," he said. "If I tell you _anything_, Mel, anything at all, promise me you'll listen and do what I say."  
Melody looked up at him. "You sound serious."  
"Life and death serious," Jim snapped. "Now promise me. Right now."

"Right now?"

"Yes."

Melody sighed. "I promise."  
Jim let out a breath. "Let's go."  
"Where?"

"The ballroom."  
*******************************************************************

When they arrived the ballroom was up in flames.

"Where's my mom and dad?" cried Melody in a panic. "And all the guests? I hope they got to safety."

"I don't know," Jim said wearily. He pulled out his pistol. "Listen for whatever I say, okay?"  
Melody nodded.

Jim walked out into the ballroom, in the midst of ashes and ruins, tongues of fire licking the edges. Holding out his pistol, he spun around, trying to see if there was anybody there.

A small fat man was running across the ballroom, his heels clicking on the floor.

"Get somewhere safe!" Jim yelled.

"That's the announcer!" cried Melody. "Mr. Little!"  
Before Melody or Jim could do a single thing, shots rang out of nowhere, and Thomas Little's body was lying twitching on the ground, covered in blood.

Melody screamed and doubled over, covering her face.

"Two can play at this game, cabin boy," came an oily voice. It seemed to be resonating all around the ballroom.

"Melody," whispered Jim.

"It's not long before something you _really care about _gets taken away," hissed the same voice.

"What?" Melody whispered back.

"Run."  
Melody was defiant. "No, I'm not leaving you."  
Jim turned to her fiercely. "You promised to listen to anything I say. And I want you to be safe. So _run_!"  
With one last look back, Melody streaked across the ballroom and disappeared up the stairs.

After checking the surrounding area one las time, Jim started to follow Melody up the stairs.

But instead, he saw Scroop standing there.

Melody was encircled inside one of his glossy red pincers. Jim could hardly believe the image he was seeing there was _real_.

"Let her go!" he yelled, pulling out the pistol and placing his finger on the trigger.

"Shoot me, boy," said Scroop, narrowing his eyes. He shoved Melody in front of him. She whimpered.

"Drop the gun," snarled Scroop.

Jim felt himself weakening. He stared at Melody's scared face, and he dropped it to the ground.

"Now kick it over to me, cabin boy."  
Jim obliged. "Now let Melody go," he snapped.

And Scroop smiled. "We will when you give us the map," he told Jim, and pulled out a small red sphere.

Then he smashed it against the ground.

A green sulferous smoke filled the area.

"Dragon's Breath," whispered Scroop slowly as both he and Melody began to fade slowly into the darkness. "Renders its victims weak and powerless, and unable to move for at least two hours. Cabin boy, do you think two hours is enough for us and your _Melody _to get back to our ship? I think so, don't you?"  
And then he was gone.

Weak and powerless was right.

Jim had lost the will to do anything.

And before he could even think of a plan, his vision went black and he slumped to the ground.

**Like it, hate it, love it? What do you think will happen next here? Uh-oh! What's going to happen to Melody? What will Jim do to get her back? **


	7. The Rescue

**Author's Note: I was excited about writing this chapter, and making Jim Melody's "knight in shining armor." It was fun writing it! Everybody keep reading and keep reviewing! **

**Reply to comments: **

**Pinkbluecupcake: Thanks! And yes, I agree with you that Jim Hawkins is hawt! Well, read and find out to see what happens to Melody! Keep reading and reviewing…**

**Syren: Yes, I'm trying to update as fast as I can, trust me. But with school and homework and stuff, it's kind of hard. But don't worry—I'll get all the chapters in fast. Glad you liked it! Keep reading and reviewing! **

MELODY

When Melody woke up hours later she was groggy and freaked out.

The first thing she did was look around to make sure Trisha, Ashlyn, and Norman weren't there. But what she realized that she wasn't anywhere _close_ to the palace, and she was alone in a completely gray room. Melody became afraid.

Suddenly the door opened, and an obese man stood there; half man, half machine.

Melody just stared at him. He walked up to her, knelt down next to her. "Are you okay?" he asked.

Melody nodded slowly. "I'm okay."  
He removed something from his shirt pocket. "A blanket. In case it gets cold."

Melody accepted it. "Where's Jim?" she asked.

The man stood up. "Jim's not here, but I am."  
"Who are you?"  
"I'm Silver."  
Melody shook her head, trying to clear it. Her mind was still thick from the Dragon's Breath fog that came out of the small red sphere the spider-crab alien had thrown to the ground.

"Is Jim okay?" she wanted to know.

A line came between Silver's thick eyebrows. "I don't know," he said. "Scroop left him there and that was the last I saw of him."  
Melody's voice was thick with raw emotion. "Is he…is he dead?"  
Silver tilted his head. "Let's not talk about this now. Can you stand?"  
Melody, leaning against the wall, tottered uneasily to her feet. "I think so."  
"Good," said Silver, pressing his lips determinedly together. "Then come with me."  
Melody's voice trembled. "I'm not going anywhere."  
Silver reached down and grabbed her arm, pulling her up to her feet and dragging her forward.

Pain clouded Melody's vision, and she just let Silver pull her away. He opened a door and brought her into another room.

The spider-crab alien thing was standing there.

"Mr. Scroop," Silver greeted him.

Scroop didn't say anything, just flicked with his pincers.

"The tracker?" Silver asked.

With his pincers, Scroop tapped a metal disk lying on the table he was sitting at.

"Wh-what're you doing?" Melody whimpered, trying to pull away. But Silver's grip was like that of iron.

Silver pinned her wrist down on top of the desk. Silver pressed a button on his metal arm, and one of his fingers became a small knife.

"What are you _doing_?" shrieked Melody. "Stop that!"  
Silver poked her wrist with the knife, and drops of blood ran down Melody's arm.

Melody screamed. "Are you _insane_?" she cried, her hair hanging down low over her face as she desperately tried to shake away.

Silver rubbed her blood onto the disk, and Scroop tapped a button on it. It glowed green, and he pressed it into a hollow spot on Silver's metal arm.

Silver finally dropped Melody's arm. Clutching the slit in her wrist, she fell to the ground.

"Do we have Hawkins' blood?" Scroop wanted to know.

"There's some on his shirt, I believe," said Silver. "And the shirt is back in the palace."  
Scroop smiled cruelly. "I snitched it, before we set the ballroom aflame."

Silver smiled, too. "Good work."

Melody was wondering why they needed Jim's blood.

Scroop rubbed some blood on a separate disk, and it glowed orange, beeping gently for a while before turning green.

Scroop plugged it into a small screen built into the desk.

Jim's image came up. "Where is he?" Silver demanded. "Check the coordinates!"  
Scroop leaned forward. "Close by!"

"How close?"  
"_Very_. The boy has journeyed far, even though he is a victim of the Dragon's Breath."

Melody lunged forward. "If you…if you do _anything_ to him, if you hurt him I'll—"

"You'll do nothing," snapped Scroop. "He's right in front of the Legacy!" Scroop exclaimed.

"So," said Silver. "Do we put her in the chamber yet?"  
"And then what?"  
Silver shrugged. "We _leave_. Then, using the trackers, we follow him."  
Scroop nodded. "Good. And then—"

"Revenge," said Silver darkly.

"No," Melody whispered.

Within seconds, Scroop had picked her up and carried her off into some dark place off the Legacy. It was a darkened room, where he put something on her wrists.

Melody yanked against it. They chafed into her smooth skin.

They were _chains_.

"Let me go!" Melody howled.

Scroop ignored her. He headed for the door. Was he just going to leave her in here to die?  
At the last second, he smashed down another small red sphere.

Dragon's Breath.

_No_.

In no time, the entire Chamber was engulfed in the sulferous green smoke. Melody couldn't breathe.

She strained against the chains. If she could just get out of the smoke, she wouldn't ask for anything else.

Her lungs were shriveling inside of her. She couldn't breathe at all. Like she was on a never ending rollercoaster. Her stomach contracted.

With a loud cry, Melody fell forward.

JIM

"_Melody_!" Jim yelled as he charged onto the Legacy. He had journeyed as far as he could go without stumbling down and dying. He had come for her, but no doubt they had done something awful to her.

Jim looked around. "Mel? Answer me, Mel!"  
He heard a weak cry from somewhere in the back. He whirled around. "Melody! Where are you?"

Jim heard nothing else, but he heard a fit of coughing. He followed the sound to a door. He jiggled the handle. It was locked, but he realized he could ram it. He ran against it, knocking the door down, and looked around.

The room was so thick with Dragon's Breath fog, that you couldn't find your own hands in this. It was amazing nothing had _melted_ with the heat and intense lung-crushing pain that sucked life-giving oxygen out of mouth.

Jim charged into the fog, pulling off his jacket to hold it up to his face, trying to cover his nose and mouth like he was a firefighter.

He spotted something, collapsed on the ground, weakly on her knees.

In that moment, Jim's heart stopped beating for several seconds. He started towards the figure, his eyes starting to water, his air slowly filtering out.

It was Melody, lying on the ground, both of her wrists wrenched back in tight chains.

Jim had no idea how to get the chains out. He knelt down and cupped her face in his hands.

"Mel? Melody, say _something_," he begged.

Melody burst out in a fit of coughing. "I—I c-can't b-breathe," Melody gasped.

Jim pulled his pistol out of his belt. "I'm gonna shoot your chains off," he said.

He couldn't breathe either. Just about a minute in this chamber, and he couldn't breathe. And h couldn't imagine how long Melody had been in there.

Rage filled him.

Melody wriggled around, slumping against him. "Please—" she sucked in air, and coughed again, the oxygen going out of her as she did.

"Hold on," Jim said. "I'm going to shoot them off. Don't move, okay?"  
Melody nodded her head weakly.

Jim grabbed Melody's arm tightly so she wouldn't move, pressed the pistol nozzle up against the chain, and then shot it.

Melody whimpered.

But the chain had broken. Jim grinned, and coughed. He was being affected by the smoke, too.

He grabbed Melody's other arm, pinned it to the ground, and shot the chain in two. Melody fell back against him with a gasp.

Jim wrapped his arms around her. "You're okay. You're alright."  
Tears streaked down her cheeks, making grimy tracks on her face. Jim pushed his jacket into her hands. "Put this up over your nose and mouth and head for the door."  
Melody held it to her face and took a step, but stumbled and fell.

"I can't," she pleaded. "Help me. I can't walk."  
Jim ran to her, picked her up around the waist, carefully, and began to carry her cautiously towards the door.

He stumbled outside and they both rolled in the grass.

Melody was slumped over, her face ashy.

For one of the first times in his life, Jim was afraid.


	8. The Fight

**Author's Note: Thank you all so much for reviewing! I'm really pleased at how this story's coming along, and the inspiring reviews I'm getting! I'm so glad you all like it. I'm trying to keep the action going as much as I can. In this story, the tension is PRETTY THICK between Jim and Melody. Read on to find out! **

**Reply to comments: **

**Fanfictionsanta: Glad to see you liked my story! And I am TRULY HONORED that you think it's one of the awesomest fanfictions you've ever read—I try my best! And YES! I AM trying to update, I promise! I'm working as hard as I can. Keep checking the story; you never know when I'll update the chapters! Thnx again for the comments! **

MELODY

When she woke up, Jim had a roaring fire going, and he was huddled in front of it.

Gingerly, Melody sat up. She had a _huge _migraine, and her head was pounding as if someone was whacking a sledgehammer inside me.

"Jim?" Melody asked cautiously.

He turned, and a smile spread across his face. "Hey! Are you okay?"  
Melody shrugged, getting to her feet and walking to the fire to warm herself. Her skin was covered with goosebumps, and her lips were blue with cold.

She seated herself close to Jim and stretched out her hands towards the fire, trying to dredge up as much warmth as possible despite the dire circumstances.

There was a long pause, a long silence.

"Will you tell me?"  
Jim turned. "Huh?"

Melody was biting her lip, her mind racing. She knew she had to ask him, and now, nestled in the heart of the quiet forest, was one of the best times to ask. "Will you tell me now? About the weird alien things who kidnapped me."  
Jim looked taken aback. "Tell you about the alien men?"  
"Yeah."  
Jim shook his head. "No."  
Now _Melody _was taken aback. "_Why not_?" she demanded. "I think I have a right to know."  
Jim sighed. "You're not _involved _enough to know."  
Melody threw her arms in the air. "I got _kidnapped _by these same people. I think I'm as _involved _as I'll ever get, Jim!"

Jim didn't say a word, just stared into the fire.

"Jim?"  
He didn't look up. Just spoke flatly. "I have to keep you safe."  
"You _are _keeping me safe."  
"It's my _responsibility_, Mel. I can't tell you any unwanted information. The less you know, the better."  
Melody exploded. "All these years I've tried to escape from the lockdown my parents have put me in. And now you're trying to do the same things to me, claiming it's your _responsibility_? I'm only asking to know who and what they are. And why won't you tell me?"

Jim got up, now looking angry. "You don't understand, Mel! I'm trying to protect you."  
"That's what you think."  
Jim walked off towards the tree line. "I'm going to go clear my head."  
Melody bit her lip. "What about me?"  
Jim didn't turn around, just continued to stalk off like a pissed off cat. "You're gonna stay here and keep yourself warm."

Melody crossed her arms over her chest.

As soon as he was gone, she let out a long scream.

"Who..who does that _jerk _think he is?" Melody cried, grabbing her long hair and pulling it out. "How dare he not tell me? He thinks he's protecting me? He's _not_! All he's doing is keeping some secret from me for some reason. What does he think I am, a useless little weakling? A pampered little princess who's as fragile as glass, too delicate to do _anything_? Is that what he thinks? A little china girl who's been living a dreamy life within the confines of a wall? I didn't _ask for that_!"  
Melody dropped to the ground, covering her face with her hair, frustrated.

"He's so _annoying_!" 

JIM 

She's so _annoying_!

"I'm trying to protect her!" Jim thought to himself. "But maybe I should never even have come for her. I should have left her here to die."  
But he realized that as soon as the thoughts were in his head, he knew they weren't true. He liked Melody. And he would _never ever _let her die, at his expense. He never wanted anyone to hurt her. And that's why he was keeping the information from her! So she wouldn't be scared.

He already was, and he didn't want her panicking and feeling afraid.

He just wanted to keep her _safe_.

He returned to the clearing, where Melody was still sitting, angry and desolate, by the fire.

Jim sat down next to her. He wasn't sure he exactly wanted to talk to her right now. He wasn't exactly in the mood. He was worried they'd get into a really big fight and then they wouldn't have the mind to work together if they ran into another big issue along the road back to Melody's palace.

"So you won't tell me." Melody's voice was unforgiving and upset.

Jim looked at her. "No."  
"Why not?"  
Jim was screaming in his head. _See, that's the problem with women. Even though you say the same thing about a million times to them, it doesn't matter, as long as they get their way. They get in your head, screw things up, twist and manipulate everything. They're all the same. _

"I just told you why," Jim said calmly, in a singsong voice, like he was explaining to a toddler.

Melody's eyes were narrowed, and her mouth was set in a grim line. Then she sighed. "Jim, I'm trying to help you. I've tried my best _to_ help you. Why won't you let me help _now_?"  
Jim shook his head. "Melody, I know. You've helped me so much. But I can't tell you."

Melody leaned towards him. "_Please, _Jim. I _know_ I can help more if I just knowmore about what we're up against here."

Jim just looked away again. Which was pretty much a no to Melody.

Melody was standing up all of a sudden. "I _know _you know!" she exclaimed. "I know you know everything there _is _to know about the aliens. I _also _know you're the missing boy, right? The one who was supposed to be working with the pirates?"  
Jim jumped up too. "What the _hell _are you talking about? You think _I'm _working with pirates? The same guy who saved your ass from dying in that room?"  
Melody shrugged casually. "Well, we really don't _know_, do we?"

Jim walked forward, stepping threateningly right into Melody's face. "I am _not_ working with the pirates. In fact, they were hunting me, and they were the ones who shot me when I fell into your window a couple days ago. If I were working with the pirates, you know what would happen to _you_?"  
"Enlighten me!" Melody snapped.

Jim spat the words into her face. "_I would have left you there to die_."  
Melody's eyes filled with tears. "Well, if you hate me so much, why didn't you let me die?"  
"Because!" Jim yelled. "I care about you! And if you can't see that, well—well, _leave_!"

Melody shook her head. "You don't mean that."  
Jim nodded. "Well, I do. If you don't _care about me_, and if you still think _I'm _the bad guy, then you can just forget me and everything about me and leave. Go home, Mel."

Melody turned away. "I thought we were friends."  
Jim threw his arms in the air. "We _are_ friends, Mel! In fact, I think we're even _more_ than friends! But why are you trying to throw all that away?"  
Melody turned back, eyes sparking. "I'm not trying to throw anything away! I keep begging you to tell me what's going on. But you won't tell me. Because you're trying to _protect _me."  
Jim squeezed between his eyebrows with his thumb and forefinger, heaving a sigh and shaking his head like it was no use trying to explain to her. "Don't you get it? If you knew as much as _I _did, you'd be in trouble! They'd target you too! How would I ever live with myself if something happened to you?"  
"Nothing will happen to me!" Melody cried.

Jim glared at her. "Oh, yeah? What do you call what just happened? They chained you up and left you to die in a room full of Dragon's Breath. That's just what they did because you were important to me. And you knew nothing, right? But if I tell you, they'll do worse to you. And I _can't see you get hurt anymore_!" Jim lowered his voice. "Do you _know_ what they did to my brother? Dimitri?"  
Melody burst into tears and turned around. "Don't tell me."  
Jim grabbed her arm and spun her around. "Don't you _dare_ walk away from me after yelling in my face about how I'm the bad guy! You're going to listen to this."  
"I don't want to hear it!"  
Jim pulled her closer. "You're going to hear it, Melody. I'm going to tell you."  
Melody's eyes glistened with tears. "I can't, Jim. I don't want to hear. Please."

Jim's voice was barely a whisper when he spoke. "They cut him up. They _cut him up, _Mel. I could barely recognize his body when they were through with him. Do you know why they did that?

Mel shook her head. "Stop it."  
"I _told him_. I told him who they were. What they're doing. What they were after. And they overheard me telling. Because there was a tracker on him. They _killed_ him."

Jim's shoulders were shaking now, and his eyes were wet with tears. "Do you think I can _ever _forgive myself for what they did to him?"  
"_STOP!" _Melody screamed. She wrenched away, falling to the ground. Sobs wracked her body and she covered her face with her hands. She couldn't breathe. Salty tears ran into her mouth. She couldn't imagine being cut up.

Jim knelt down next to her. "Every. Single. Damn. Day. I am haunted every day by the memory of him. I didn't get to save him. I didn't get a chance."

Melody looked up, trembling. Jim's eyes were firm. "I have a chance with you, Mel," he said finally. "I can keep you safe. I won't tell you a single thing, if it will save your life." He looked into the sky, almost as if looking for Dimitri's memory. "I made a decision on the day the pirates murdered Dimitri. I would do everything alone. If you want to save those you love most, you have to be willing to go for it alone."  
"Everyone needs help," Melody whispered. "You can't do _anything _without a bit of help."  
Jim got up, and began to walk back to the fire.

"Please don't do this to me, not again," Melody breathed. "Jim, I _do _care about you. And you don't have to tell me about the pirates."  
Jim looked back at her.

"But I'm not leaving you here alone."  
Jim stalked back. "You are _going home_, Mel. I am taking you back to the palace. And you're going to stay there. You're going to rule your kingdom. And I am going to _fix what I started_."  
"We'll never see each other again!" Melody's voice was rising again.

"Would you rather see me again, or _live_?" Jim demanded.

The forest was silent. There wasn't a breath of wind in the air. Melody stared at Jim. Jim stared back, defiantly. He had thrown his challenge into the air, and it hung there, fluttering.

Melody just stared back at him. And finally, she raised her challenge like a flag and let it stand there, fluttering besides his.

"You want the honest truth?" Melody asked quietly.

Jim crossed his arms. "I want the honest truth."  
Melody put a hand on her heart. "I'd rather see you again."  
The look on Jim's face was an expression so unreadable Melody felt a little freaked out. She tried to back up her words. "My life is the most boring life imaginable," Melody explained. "It goes like this: breakfast, violin, piano, math class, lunch, Latin, French, horseback riding, etiquette, choosing a dress for dinner, then actual dinner, then reading in bed. Then finally, I get to sleep. After midnight is the only time I get to enjoy. And that's strictly for sleeping. Because I get woken up at eight in the morning to have breakfast and get to all my classes on time again."  
Melody's eyes were narrowed. "Every thing over and over again. For _years_. And finally, you came. And you messed up my schedule. And everything in my life was thrown out of line. It was horrible, scary, confusing, _exciting_. And it was every happiness I ever wanted." She lowered her voice. "The night before, I had wished on a star for a friend. The best kind of friend. And I got _you_. Except we're not friends."  
Jim raised his eyebrows.

Melody smiled. "We're _more_. And you. You're unlike any boy I've ever met. You're exciting, adventurous, fun, you _swear_, you're just the best kind of person."  
"There are a lot of things about my past," Jim said. "That make me a bad person."

"Say what you want," Melody went on. "But Jim Hawkins, you're the best thing that's ever happened to me. But before you take me back to my old, horrible life with the same old, same old stuff happening every single day, let's just do something we want to do together. Right now."  
Jim just stared at her, processing every word she'd just said.

"Will you do that for me?" Melody asked, meaning every word she had just said.

Jim nodded. "What do you want to do?"  
Melody smiled. "Now. I'm not a very good dancer, but I still danced with a boy yesterday. And I think that was the worst mistake I ever made. I'm trying to get that out of my memory and replace it with a good one. So, do you want to dance?"  
Jim laughed. "_Dance_? Mel, I don't dance."  
Melody grabbed his hand. "No one's gonna see."  
"No one except you."

Melody giggled. "I don't count. Let's go."

As they waltzed, Melody commented. "The weather's nice."  
Jim barked out a laugh. "What do you mean?"  
Melody bit her lip. "Small talk. I mean, it's a force of habit. When we dance, we're supposed to have idle conversation."  
Jim smiled. "Oookay. So let's have idle conversation." He gazed down at her. "You look beautiful tonight, Princess Melody."

Melody smiled back. "You look great tonight, too, Prince Jim."  
Jim laughed again. "_Prince _Jim? Uh-uh. Just Jim."  
"Is that your real name?" Melody wanted to know.

Jim glanced away. "Well, my real name is James. James Hawkins. Is Melody _your _real name?"

Melody nodded. "Yeah. What's your middle name?"  
Jim threw his head back. "Why are you asking me this?"  
Melody shrugged. "Idle conversation."  
Jim sighed. "Promise me you won't laugh."  
Melody held back a giggle. "It can't be that bad."

"Ready for it?"  
"Pleiades."  
Melody snorted. "_Pleiades_?"  
Jim blushed. "It was my mom's dad's name. She insisted on me having it."

Melody laughed, and fell to the ground laughing. "I think it's cute."  
"You'd be the first."  
They lay together on the ground, eerie fiery shapes flickering on the bushes. Jim twirled a strand of Melody's hair between his fingers. "Was that our last dance?" he asked.

Melody looked at him sadly. "I think so, Jim."  
"Will we ever dance like that again?"  
"I don't know."  
Melody pressed up against him, their heartbeats matching. Scared heartbeats. But calmed by each other.

Suddenly, the silence was interrupted by a snort from Melody. "Pleiades," she teased.

Jim shoved her playfully. "I'm gonna get you now," he warned her.

Melody began to run, laughing. Jim came up behind her, picked her up, and swung her around by the waist.

Melody fell to the ground, breathless, her hair in her eyes, but her face flushed with excitement.

Jim leaned over her. "Say _Jim_."  
Melody shrieked with laughter, breathless.

"Say it." Jim grinned.  
Melody laughed, and finally gave up. "Jim."

Jim leaned down. "Now say you're sorry for making fun of my middle name." He grinned.

Melody tilted her head. "Oookay. I'm sorry, Pleiades."  
This time, Jim didn't grin. He just looked very seriously at her. "Can we do something _I _want?" he asked her softly.

Melody nodded, looking at him, concerned. "Of course. What do you want to do?"  
Jim brought his face close. "Kiss me."  
"Yes," Melody whispered back.

They pressed their lips against each other in the dark sweetness of the forest.

No one saw them, but—

Far away, on a ship called the Legacy, two trackers began to flash.

Scroop walked in, tapped the trackers.

"What is it?" Silver demanded, carrying a can of beer with him into the room.

Scroop looked up, a slow smile spreading across his evil alien face.

"_Targets found_."


	9. The Secrets

**Author's Note: This is a really short chapter, because it's just a small part where Jim and Melody exchange secrets and talk about their pasts, and I tried to make it sweet and romantic. Tell me how this goes please!**

MELODY

Melody was running her hands through Jim's hair.

The firelight had faded, but it was still flickering against their faces.

"Tell me something." Jim looked up at Melody's face, took a strand of her hair and twisted it gently between his thumb and forefinger.

Melody smiled. "Tell you what?"  
"Tell me anything."

Melody shrugged. "_You _talk. I want to listen to your voice."  
Jim shrugged. "Okay. What do you want to hear?"  
Melody leaned her head against his shoulder. "Something I don't already know."  
Jim shrugged again. A long time passed. "I'm a bad person," he said finally. Melody didn't move. She was scared that if she even breathed, he'd stop talking.

"I did something," said Jim, and his voice broke. "I hurt someone really badly."  
"Is he okay?" Melody whispered.

Jim shook his head slowly. "He's dead."  
Melody was so scared now her heart was threatening to rip out of her chest. Jim killed someone.

He _killed _someone. She shifted slightly away from him. He was a murderer.

"He was with the pirates," Jim continued. "His name was Saelden. He was the one that killed Dimitri."  
Melody was motionless.

Jim shook his head. "Sometimes I'm so haunted by the memory, I can't remember how to breathe. This was at a time in my life when everything was just so—just so damn complicated, you know?"  
Melody didn't say a word.

"My dad left when I was eight years old," Jim said slowly. "He just walked out of the house. My mom was crying. Dimitri and I were too shocked to do anything. Well, I ran down the bridge to the pier where he got onto a ship and sailed away. I yelled out for him. But he didn't reply. He didn't want to."  
Melody clenched her hands into fists and balled them up in the fabric of her dress.

"My dad was my hero," Jim said, still speaking in a quiet voice. "I loved him so much. He was the one thing that made my life special. But for some reason, he wanted nothing to do with me. Me or Dimitri. And suddenly, he's gone. Out of nowhere. After that, I just—well, I never healed."  
Melody looked up at him. Tears glistened in Jim's eyes.

Jim sighed. "My mom said I was a troubled teen. And once—once, I—I was just so mad. And I hit my girlfriend. She ran home and her folks called the cops. They told my mom, and she said, I'm just like _him_."  
"Your father."  
"I'm not like him."

Melody twisted a piece of hair. "Did he ever hit your mom?"  
"Everyday. And he beat me, too. Me and Dimitri."  
Melody was shocked into silence. She couldn't believe that some people hit and abused their kids like that.

"Am I like him?" Jim asked in a whisper. "What do you think?"  
Melody didn't say anything, but tears threatened to spill out of her eyes. Goosebumps raised on her arms, she couldn't make eye contact with him.

He shook his head. "Mel, please don't be scared."  
Melody shook her head, too. "I'm not scared."  
Jim reached for her. "I'd never hurt you."  
Melody narrowed her eyes. "I'm no different from your girlfriend. Jim, why'd you hit her?"  
Jim sighed. "I guess _I _was scared."  
This was news. "Scared of what?"  
Jim let out a deep breath. "Living."  
Melody couldn't respond to that.

"You tell _me _something," Jim begged. Melody crawled forward to him. "Okay."  
There was a silence. Then Melody opened her lips.

"I cut myself once."  
Jim gasped. "What? Where? Why?"  
Melody showed him the scars crisscrossing the top of her arms. "I did it because I was stressed out. And I guess—I was afraid of living, too. So I wanted to _stop_."  
"Stop what?"  
"Stop living."  
Jim was silent. "You wanted to kill yourself?"  
"Why not?"  
Jim grabbed her wrists. "Promise me you won't do that to yourself again."

Melody shook her head. "I won't." She pulled away. "It hurt like hell, and I learned my mistake."  
Jim nodded. "Now we know each other's secrets."  
Melody nodded. "Will you tell?"  
"No. Will you?"  
"No."

"Do you promise?"  
"Yes…I promise." 


End file.
